The Democratic Party on May 15 responded to allegations of collusion made by Kim Du-gyeom, the candidate from the People Power Party, regarding the unification of progressive candidates for the Ulsan mayoral election. Jo Seung-rae, the party's Secretary-General, expressed confidence that they would not unify with independent candidate Park Maeng-woo. While Kim Sang-wook of the Democratic Party and Kim Jong-hoon of the Progressive Party agreed to unify their candidacies through a 100% opinion poll, discussions between Kim Du-gyeom and Park regarding their potential unification have stalled.
During a press conference at the National Assembly, Jo questioned the basis for Kim Du-gyeom's claims of collusion, stating, "What evidence do you have to assert collusion?" He further explained that the decision to unify was made out of a desperate need to correct Ulsan's governance and prevent the People Power Party from regaining power. On the previous day, Hwang Myung-pil, the candidate from the Justice Party, had withdrawn in support of Kim Sang-wook.
Jo also addressed the upcoming by-election in Pyeongtaek, stating, "Currently, there are no discussions taking place with the Justice Party." Analysts suggest that unification may be challenging, given the heated exchanges between Democratic Party candidate Kim Yong-nam and Justice Party candidate Jo Guk.
Additionally, regarding the support for Jo from Lee Ho-cheol, a former chief of the Civil Affairs Office during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, Jo remarked, "We consider actions where our party members support candidates from other parties or independents as relevant conduct, and we will make a comprehensive assessment."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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